The Horseless Age Arrives in Seattle
As public interest in motor vehicles sweeps the nation, Seattle’s streets begin to transition from hooves to horsepower.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The development of public interest in motor vehicles, known as automobiles, has been sudden and widespread. Within the last six months, over 50 factories in the United States have undertaken the manufacture of automobiles in various forms: cars, delivery wagons, freight trucks, and tricycles. A hundred electric cabs are flying familiarly on the streets of New York, and ten more are being rushed to completion to supply the popular demand for horseless motion. While the electric vehicle is perhaps the most popular automobile in cities where the pavements are smooth, the gasoline car has been successful both in the city and in the country. It has many advantages over the electric vehicle, being much lighter and requiring no charging station. It is impossible to do away entirely with the unpleasant odor of burnt gases, however. As to what form the future motor vehicle will take, there is the widest diversity of opinion. It is stated that it will be within a step of the ground with an artistically rounded front. The universal adoption by the automobile seems inevitable and is now very near.
“The universal adoption of the automobile seems inevitable and is now very near.”
In 1899, the debate centered on electric versus gasoline engines as the city prepared for a transition that would permanently alter Seattle's landscape. Today, the city stands at a similar inflection point, navigating a massive infrastructure shift as it moves from internal combustion back toward an electric-powered future.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.